"The Egyptian Book of the Dead," translated by E.A. Wallis Budge, is a pivotal work that opened the ancient Egyptian world of the afterlife to the West. Comprising a collection of spells, rituals, and incantations, this sacred text was designed to guide the deceased through the Duat (the Egyptian underworld) and ensure their safe passage to the afterlife. Budge's translation, first published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was among the first to make these complex and profound religious texts accessible to an English-speaking audience. Despite its scholarly criticism for inaccuracies by contemporary Egyptologists, Budge's work remains an essential piece of literature, celebrated for its historical significance and its role in introducing the mystique of ancient Egyptian spirituality to the wider world.
